Tertiary PTSD

Ideally, every person would be subject to the first phase of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, which is the phase that prevents exposing the subject to any events that may cause PTSD. If the subject has been exposed to such events, then the next step is to prevent the emergence of PTSD. Once PTSD has actually occurred, professionals not only have the job of dealing with the emergence of the PTSD but also with the tertiary PTSD, or the prevention of an increase in the symptoms and/or causes of PTSD.

Traumatic events often cause PTSD. This can happen any time from early childhood to the late stages of life. The event is so traumatic that the details of it basically embed themselves in the memory of the subject, causing a "fight or flight" response to similar stimuli as was present during the traumatic events. Once PTSD has started, it can fracture into other areas of life. This is where tertiary PTSD treatment must occur.

To give an example, let us assume that Tommy has been repeatedly abused in a variety if ways with a wooden spoon. He develops an aversion to wooden spoons that lasts through his adulthood. If the abuse continues, the likelihood of the need for tertiary PTSD treatment is even more pronounced. That's because PTSD is the mind's way of protecting the body. The mind initiates a "flight or fight" response. If the abuse continues, the mind may rationalize that the response is not sufficient and may expand it to other areas in the hopes of finding some method of protection.

Hence, Tommy's ongoing experience of abuse may lead his PTSD to not just stop with wooden spoons. He may develop acute reactions to similar objects, such as wooden forks, spoons in general and so on. In order for this to be treated, Tommy will need to undergo therapy that results in him understanding on a subconscious level that it is not the wooden spoon that is the cause of the problems, but the abuser wielding it.

One way to initiate tertiary PTSD treatment is through exposure and displays of control. The subject needs to understand and accept that exposure to a stimulus does not automatically mean pain from that stimulus. Since the stimulus is often an object, sound, smell or other perception, the subject will need to be exposed to the stimuli in a manner that they have control over. This will result in the separation of the traumatic event and the stimulus itself. This separation will lead to a feeling of control for the individual and a successful tertiary PTSD method that may lead to a resolution to the PTSD in general.

In extreme circumstances, some of the methods of tertiary PTSD treatment may include a severe limitation on stimuli in general. The subject may need to be in an environment that they feel safe in and that has little to no outside stimulus. As the subject progresses, certain stimulus can be introduced until the PTSD is under control or at least limited in its reactions to harmless stimuli.